E-Vidhan System for Paperless Legislation

Q. Why is this in news?

A. A delegation of MLAs from Gujarat visited the UP Legislative Assembly to learn about the novel e-Vidhan system for paperless proceedings that has been recently adopted by the UP state assembly.

Q. What is E-Vidhan System?

A. 

• The National e-Vidhan Application (NeVA) is a system for digitising the legislative bodies of all Indian states and the Parliament through a single platform.
• It includes a website and a mobile app.
• The house proceedings, starred/unstarred questions and answers, committee reports etc. will be available on the portal.
• Nagaland became the first state to implement NeVA, in March this year.

Q. What is the Significance of NeVA?

A. 

• There has been a shift towards digitisation in recent years by the government.
• NeVA aims for streamlining information related to various state assemblies, and to eliminate the use of paper in day-to-day functioning.
• PM Modi mentioned the idea of “One Nation One Legislative Platform” in November 2021.
• A digital platform not only gives the necessary technological boost to our parliamentary system, but also connects all the democratic units of the country.

Q. Has this been done elsewhere?

A.

• Himachal Pradesh’s Legislative Assembly implemented the pilot project of NeVA in 2014, where touch-screen devices replaced paper at the tables of the MLAs.
• Though both Houses of Parliament have not gone fully digital yet, governments world over are heading towards embracing the digital mode.
• In December last year, the Government of Dubai became the world’s first government to go 100 percent paperless.
• It announced all procedures were completely digitised.
• This, as per a government statement, would cut expenditure by USD 350 million and also save 14-million-man-hours.

Q. What are the challenges?

A.

• Access to devices and reliable internet and electricity was an issue particularly for legislators representing rural constituencies.
• Lack of training and heightened concerns over security are some more recent issues in the road to digitization.